Body Types

There are five common body styles for light weight passenger vehicles, the main purpose of these is to provide comfort and safety for those inside as well as being a load bearing structure. Most cars are made by 'Unitary Construction' (chassis-less) with all the components assembled within.
This means cars can be mass produced, often with pressed steel bodies although this is heavier than the increasingly popular aluminium body. Hand made cars, F1 cars and more expensive sports cars are occasionally moulded from GRP (fibreglass) which is primarily a glass reinforced plastic, which is very light and strong, although very expensive.
Steel bodies have the advantage of being painted and treated and are therefore rust resistant and is generally more appealing to the eye as well as being relatively cheap.

The most common five styles of LPV are Estate, saloon, coupe, convertible and hatchback.

Saloon:


BMW M3

A very common style which typically carries 4 - 5 passengers, with either 2 or 4 passenger doors, the design is based on three 'boxes' the front box being the engine section, the middle for the passengers and the rear box for the boot (storage). Theses 'boxes' are blended together and the passenger shell strengthened with the front and rear sections providing 'crumple zones' which cushion damage and shock on impact to keep the passenger section in tact.

Estate:


Classic Estate - Volvo 240

(aka station wagon) has a larger interior than than most cars as the roof is extended to the rear creating a large boot area which can take large loads or extra seats very easily as well as having stronger suspension added to the rear to contain these loads.


Coupe:


A Modern Day Coupe - 2 door Mercedes Benz CL600

a coupe often has a rigid roof section and two doors although some have two very small seats in the back, these are often only suitable for children, this design is primarily for carrying two passengers including the driver, and as such is smaller and more sporty looking.

Convertible:


The king of the convertible: E-Type Jaguar

(aka cabriolet or drop-head coupe) this design has a mechanical or fabric roof which can be removed to form an open car, often used in hot countries. Although the increased drag caused by removing the roof can often cause minor handling problems, making the car under or over steer in corners as the aerodynamics are different.

Hatchback:


Peugeot 307

Very similar to the saloon, however the trunk (boot) is moulded into the centre section of the car, very popular due to its versatility, again containing 4 passengers and often with 4 doors and a fairly sizable storage area, larger than the saloon but smaller than an estate.